Retailers must prioritise secure and diverse payments for eCommerce success, says Kooomo

This article is brought to you by Retail Technology Review: Retailers must prioritise secure and diverse payments for eCommerce success, says Kooomo.

As the impact of COVID-19 continues to drive consumers and merchants online, there is a growing need for retailers to focus on securing and diversifying the existing digital payment methods of their online stores to ensure the checkout process is as safe and frictionless as possible.

This is according to Global eCommerce Platform, Kooomo, which is reporting an increase in customers requesting the latest secure digital transaction solutions to better protect their businesses, improve the customer experience and maximise sales.

Ciaran Bollard, CEO of Kooomo commented: “Over the last few months we have seen a notable increase in customers requesting support for new payment options and secure transaction authentication solutions. With many bricks and mortar retailers now prioritising their online offerings to overcome the challenges of coronavirus, we have made sure our platform supports these requests for diverse and secure payment integrations.”

One of the most important payments authentication solutions is Global Payments 3DS2, also known as EMV 3-D Secure Three-Domain Secure (3DS), the umbrella name for the card schemes’ of brands such as Visa Secure, Mastercard Identity Check and American Express Safekey. The EMV 3DS protocol was designed to reduce fraud, increase customer security, and reduce merchant liability to chargebacks.

Ciaran explained: “We have prioritised updating the Global Payments 3DS2 functionality to combat fraud and allow for less friction upon checkout while reducing merchant liability to chargebacks. This was also designed to be optimised for Mobile Commerce (mCommerce) by providing customers with native in-app authentication and intelligent risk-based decision-making to enable smarter data sharing between the merchant, the customer, and the issuer.”

In addition to EMV 3DS, there are a variety of new payment solutions that are quickly becoming essential for online retailers hoping to strengthen the security of their eCommerce processes while simultaneously increasing sales and new customer acquisitions.

Ciaran continued: “Consumers love choice and we’re seeing an increasing demand for innovative payment solutions like Klarna, which allows consumers to make interest-free payment installments. As an alternative to credit, installments boost sales when offered as an option at the checkout by giving shoppers the freedom to spread the cost, while merchants get paid the full amount immediately.

“There is also increased demand for Apple Pay services so customers using apple devices can make 3D secure payments via fingerprint or face recognition scanning. This is one of the best ways to make the mobile checkout experience as smooth and secure as possible, and with 1.5 billion active Apple devices in the world today, this can ensure greater privacy and higher conversion rates for online retailers.

“We are also providing retailers with the ability to toggle payment methods on the front end and order them depending on the country of the transaction so they can better adapt to local payment customs. This is important as preferred payments differ between European countries and local regulations such as Sweden have called for a direct payment option to be displayed first in a list as a requirement by law.”

Ciaran concluded: “Secure and diverse payment options are more in demand than ever and are a vital requirement of any eCommerce site in the post-COVID world, significantly improving the UX for both merchants and consumers. We now have the technology to make these available at the checkout and this will help to combat consumer hesitations and ensure extra security of the transaction process.”